Draft-yoke



E. GEORGE, Jn.

Ill

UNITED STATESv PATENT OFFICE.

ENOCI-I GEORGE, JR., OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO TI-IE MCCONWAY & TORLEY COMPANY, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION 0F PENN- SYLVANIA.

DRAFT-YOKE.

Application led April 5,

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, ENooH GEORGE, J r., a citizen of the United States, residing at Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Draft- Yokes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and eXact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to draft rigging for railway -cars and more particularly to the draft yoke element thereof.

Draft rigging employing a vertical yoke, that is to say a yoke having its arms arranged invertical alinement, is commonly supported on the railroad car in either ,of two well known ways. One 0f these ways is to support the draft mechanism by means of a tie plate or tie lates which are connected at their opposite ends to the center sills or to the draft castings of the car and which pass beneathand engage the lower arm of the draft yoke. In the other method of attachment the support for the draft mechanism is the member or members on which the lower edges of the followers bear at their outer ends. In this latter'type of mounting the weight of the draft yoke and the friction draftgear or springs which are within the yoke lcauses the inner surface of the upper arm of the yoke to bear heavily against the upper edges of the followers, with the result that the inner surface of the upper yoke arm wears away in service and thus reduces the strength of the yoke. With either type of support for the draft rigging, the inner face of the lower arm of the yoke is subjected to wear when a friction draft gear unit is employed within the yoke and, although to a less extent, the lower arm of the yoke is sometimes worn away atthis point even when simple springs are employed in the draft mechanism. It is the object of the present invention to protect the draft yoke from suchwear.

The principal feature of the invention consists in providing a draft yoke with wear plates which respectively engage and overlap the inner opposed faces of the spaced arms of the yoke between which the resilient cushioning unit of the draft mechanism is received.

A further feature of the invention consists Speccaton of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 18, 1921.

1921. Serial No. 458,813.

in providing a yoke with a plurality of wear plates which engagingly overlap the inner faces of the respective yoke arms, each of said arms and the wear plate adjacent thereto having a tongue and groove engagement.

There are other features of the invention, residing in particular combinations of elements and in details of elements, all as will hereinafter appear. I

In the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention, the scope whereof is pointed out in the claims,

Figure l is a side elevation of a draft yoke embodying the invention, the followers of the draft rigging being shown between the arms of the yoke, and the resilient or cushioning unit which is interposed between the followers being indicated diagrammatip cally by dot and dash lines.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the yoke shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3, Fig. l, showing the relation of the draft rigging parts to each other and to neighboring stationary portions ofthe car structure, the scale of the view being somewhat reduced.

Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7 are views corresponding to Fig. 2, but respectively illustrating modified forms of the invention.

For purposes of illustration, but without intent to limit the invention, I have shown a formof yoke which is designed to be made as a unitary casting and which is provided at its forward endA with perforated lugs 1, 2 and 3, respectively, which are adapted through the instrumentality of a tail pin (not shown) to form a quadruple shear .connection with a car coupler;

Referring to the construction shown in Figs. l, 2 and 3, the yoke is formed with vertically alined parallel spaced arms 4 which are rigidly connected at their rear ends by a transverse bar or tie member 5 which, as shown at 6, may be cored for the sake of lightness. The yoke arms 4 may be and preferably are also rigidly connected at their forward ends as indicated at 7. In the space between the yoke arms 4: and the ties 6 and 7 are interposed the follower plates 8 of the draft rigging and between said followers is located the resilient cushioning unit, diagrammatically indicated by the dot and dash lines A, which may be either a friction draft gear or a simple spring device as Shown at 9 in Fig, 3,

The inner side of each yoke arm 4 is preferably provided with a facing or wear plate 10, although only one such wear plate may be employed if it is desired to protect 5 only one of the yoke arms. The wear plates which are interposed between the edges of the followers 8 and the respective yoke arms 4 are preferably of uniform cross section from end to end and are adapted to engage 10 the ties 6 and 7 0f the yoke. By so engaging the portions 6 and 7 of the yoke the said wear. plates 10 are prevented from shifting longitudinally of the yoke when the followers move back and forth in service. To preserve the alinement of the wear plates with respect to the yoke arms, each of said arms and the wear plate adjacent theretoare preferably provided with a tongue and groove engagement. This engagement is .effected in the construction shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 by providing'the inner face of each yoke arm 4 with a channel 11 into which the adjacent we'ar platel 10 neatly fits. When, as shown in Fig. 3, the draft mechanism is supported by follower guides 12 which are bolted to cheek castings 13 secured to the center sills 14 of the car, one of the wear plates 10 bears against the upper edges of -the followers 8 and thus protects the upper yoke arm 4 from wear, while the spring 9 (or friction draft gear) bears against the wear plate 10 of the lower yoke arm which latter is thereby relieved from wear.

Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7 illustrate various modified means for maintaining the wear plates in proper relation to the arms of the yoke. In the construction shown in Fig. 4 the wear plates 15 are provided with channels 16 which receive the arms 17 of the yoke. In Fig. 5 is illustrated a construction in which the wear plates 18 are formed with longitudinally extending tongues or ribs 19 which enter corresponding grooves or channels 20 formed in the inner faces of the respective yoke arms 21; Fig. 6 shows a construction in which rivets 22 are employed in lieu of a tongue and groove engagement to retain the wear plates 23 in proper relation to their respective yoke arms 24. Fig. 7 illustrates a form of construction in which the spaced yoke arms 25 are provided with inwardly projecting longitudinally extending ribs 26 which enter correspondingly shaped channels 27 formed in the respective wear plates 28. In the constructions shown in Figs. 5^, 6 and 7, as well as in Figs. 1, 2' and 3, the wear plates do not project beyond the vertical faces of the yoke arms. Except as heretofore described, the constructions illustrated in Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 7 may be like that shown in the principal figures of the drawings.

In all forms of my invention, except that illustrated in Fig. 6, the parts of the draft rigging interposed between the wear plates within the yoke retain said wear plates in assembled position when the device is in service; and by this means and because of the detachable engagement of the wear plates with the yoke arms, the wear plates may be readily renewed whenever necessary.

I claim 1. A draft yoke having spaced arms adapted to receive a cushioning unit between them, said yoke being provided with a plurality of wear plates which respectively engage and overlap the inner opposed faces of said arms.

2. A draft yoke having spaced arms adapted to receive a cushioning unit `between them, a plurality of wear plates which respectively engage and overlap the inner opposed faces of said arms, and means for retaining said plates in assembled relation when the yoke is in service. Y

3. A draft yoke having spaced arms adapted to receive a cushioning unit between them, and provided with a wear plate engagingly overlapping the inner face of one of said arms.

4. A draft yoke having spaced arms adapted to receive acushioning unit between them, a wear plate arranged between said arms and engagingly overlapping the inner face of one of said arms, and means for maintaining said plate and arm in overlapping relation. Y

5. A draft yoke having spaced arms which are adapted to receive a cushioning unit between them, means for rigidly connecting said arms at their rear ends, and a wear plate engagingly overlapping the inner face of one of said arms, said means being adapted to engage said plate to prevent movement of the latter with respect to said arm in one direction.

6. A draft yoke having spaced arms which are adapted to receive a cushioning unit between them, rmeans for rigidly connecting said arms at their rear ends, means for rigidly connecting said arms at their forward ends, and a wear plate extending from one of said means to the other of said means and engagingly overlapping the inner face of one of said arms.

7. A draft yoke having spaced arms which are adapted to receive -a cushioning unit between them, means for` rigidly connecting said arms at their rear ends, and a wearplate overlapping the inner face of one of said arms and having interfitting engagement with said arm.

8. A draft yoke having spaced arms which are adapted to receive a cushioning unit between them, means for rigidly connecting said arms at their rear ends, and a wear plate engagingly overlapping the inner face of one of said arms, said arm and said plate having a tongue and groove engagement extending lengthwise of said arm,

9. A draft yoke having vertically spaced arms adapted to receive a cushioning unit between them, means for connecting said arms at their rear ends, and a plurality of wear plates engagingly overlapping the inner faces of the respective arms, each of said arms and the wear plate adjacent thereto having a tongue and groove engagement.

10. A draft yoke having vertically spaced arms adapted to receive a cushioning unit between them, means for connecting said arms at their rear ends, means for rigidly connecting said arms at their forward ends, and a plurality of wear plates respectively overlapping the inner faces of said arms between said means.

11. A draft yoke having vertically spaced arms adapted to receive a cushioning unit between them, means for rigidly connecting said arms at their rear ends, means for rigidly connecting said arms at their forward ends, and a plurality of wear plates engagingly overlapping the inner faces of the respective arms between said means, each of said arms and the wear plate adjacent thereto having a tongue and groove engagement. v

12. A draft yoke having spaced arms adapted to receive a cushioning unit between them, said yoke being provided with a plurality of wear plates which respectively engage and overlap the inner opposed faces of said arms, each of said arms and the wear plate adjacent thereto having a tongue and groove engagement.

13. A draft yoke having spaced arms adapted to receive a cushioning unit between them, and a wear plate detachably mounted on one of said arms and overlapping the inner face of said arm, said wear plate being adapted to be retained in assembled position by said cushioning unit.

14. A draft yoke having spaced arms adapted to receive a cushioning unit between them, and a plurality of wear plates arranged between said arms and respectively overlapping the inner faces thereof, said plates being detachably mounted upon the respective arms and being adapted to be retained in assembled position by said cushioning unit.

15. The combination with a yoke having vertically spaced arms and a plurality of wear plates respectively overlapping the opposed inner faces of said arms, of a plurality of followers located between said plates, and yielding means interposed between said followers.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature.

ENOCH GEORGE, JR. 

